Engaging THE 4 HOUR WORK WEEK - Week 12 / BODY - Week 5

Last blog was 1 ½ weeks ago, and between travel and deadlines, I had to skip a week. Oh well.

Last weekend I was at a family reunion with my mom. It was so weird to be staying at a hotel 5 minutes from where my grandparents lived. So close! I wanted so badly to go the rest of the way! But they are gone, and so is their dear little farm house, once my haven, where I could relax from school and life, has been replaced by a housing development. I’ve only been to the area 3 times since we moved my grandparents from their house - and that only happened after they died.
Outside of the actual reunion and a brunch the next day with the cousins I’m closest to, I met some new relatives that Mom loves and we heard lots of new stories about my fabulous family. The family traits continue to be passed down over the centuries. We are inventors, builders, musicians, storytellers, have a great sense of humor, and we care about people and animals.
Grandma had 32 first cousins, so the family is sort of huge. Some didn’t use the names they were born with (spellings, nicknames, and marriage changed some), but Mom has spent years on our family tree, and we learned of other relatives that have worked from their end.
I spent the weekend laughing and crying (I so miss my wonderful grandparents), but mostly it was positive.

When I got home, aside from unpacking, I had two main goals this week:
1 - Write down stories and family history I learned over the weekend (frequently calling Mom for help because she knows the family better and has the genealogy). Quick, while it’s fresh.
2 - Pushing to get my next newsletter and website text ready.
My web mistress goes back to college on the 6th, and even though she says it’s quick and easy to drop text and photos in, I’d prefer to give her nothing but friendship (and a sympathetic ear) while she’s studying. I’m also completely redesigning my Dr. Seuss website - which is more complicated. Love the new look - simple, but more informative.
The filmed demo of THE GIVING TREE and HORTON HATCHES THE EGG should also be done editing soon, so had to check with Déous, my director/editor, on that. I’ll likely have to hunt for “forest sounds” while opening and closing credits roll on GIVING TREE, but he’s doing all the rest.

I think I should wait a few weeks to send the Newsletter (best sent out on Fri.) because this next week is all about 9/11. Aside from the focus and additional electronic flow around the topic, I think it’s just inappropriate, during this time of grieving and remembering.

I’ve lost at least another pound of fat. Haven’t weighed myself since Wed., at which point, I’d lost 5 pounds total, so far (and I even cheated lightly a second day on the weekend!) I’m sure if I had more body fat, I’d lose faster. The leaner you are, the slower you tend to lose body fat. I started at about 20% and I’m trying to get down to 10%. Just low enough so my muscles are nicely, but not extremely, defined.
I haven’t eaten breakfast within 30 minutes of getting up. (I usually eat 40-45 min. after getting up - not lazy, just takes me a while to feed kitties, put away dishes, and mix food together.) I’ll try fixing breakfast the night before, so I can grab grub faster. Tim says it makes a huge difference.
Tuesday as I examined my posture to ensure I was doing the kettleball swings correctly, I noticed that my butt looked rounder. This is actually one of the primary benefits of the exercise, but I’ve spent my life focused on improving my waist and hips, so I never really paid any attention to my ass. But it definitely looks smaller, rounder, and sort of cute now.
Friday I got a few more of the suggested supplements, which should help with fat loss and muscle gain.
I’ve only done each set of weights 3 times (and the first couple I was figuring out how much to lift so I’d hit failure by or before the 7th rep), but I can still tell I’m lifting more, which means I’m also gaining muscle weight.

Hubby and I returned the super-social kitten we were fostering Wed. and kept his shy sister for another few days. When we got her a week and a half ago, she hissed at people. Now she purrs and kneads and nuzzles in ecstasy when you pet her. She still backs off when you approach her, unless she’s been sleeping). The silly thing really enjoys attention and being touch. She just doesn’t realize a hand approaching her is a good thing. Poor baby. This weekend, I’m going to see if feeding her tuna by hand will change her mind. We’ll see if it works. She is so emotionally broken, but tuna is like crack to kitties.

Engaging THE 4 HOUR WORK WEEK - Week 10 / BODY - Week 3

I’ve lost FOUR pounds!!!

Before you shrug this off, there are a few things to keep in mind:

1- I’ve never lost a pound of fat a week. Ever. (Aside from that one time when a shark and alligator used me as a smorgasbord.)

2 - It’s easy for me to gain muscle, which I’m also working on. The scale isn’t sharing how many pounds of muscle is replacing pounds of fat lost. (Not even a threat of massive electrocution - the scale refused to budge.)

3 - My clothes continue to loosen up. Today I put on my shorts, and thought I’d forgotten to button them. Cool!

4 - I love Pig Out Day - and weighing less a few days after eating crap. I’m eating crap more often on this diet than I do when I try to always eat as good as possible. Once a week?! Bliss!

Finally finished reading all the way through THE 4 HOUR BODY. I’ve started looking into undoing my injuries.

Took advantage of the heat and washed sweaters, the feather duster, my makeup brushes, and anything else that needs to hang dry.

We’re fostering two new kittens. 7 weeks old. Tiny. Adorable. Both are supposed to be shy, but only one truly is. The smaller on is a male (who ate and grew and ate and grew until he’s about the same size as his sister). He’s quite vocal and insists on attention, being held, rubbed, loved, and trots up to me like a little puppy when I open the door. He’s adorably sweet.
His sister’s initial reaction to anyone was “HISS!” but it was all noise. She was too small to do attempt damage. I kept petting and holding her while she ate, when she was super sleepy, and while she played. She’s not scared of humans; she’s nervous about anything, including toys. But she admits that getting scratched on her face and under her chin feels good, and today, for the first time, she finally purred while I pet her! On two separate occasions!!

FILM STUFF:
*I’m in the first short of THE SACRED SAGA, shooting this fall.

*I came up with a mock commercial, wrote it, and am helping Deous produce it. Plus I have the only female role. It’s short, funny, and I truly believe the public will fully appreciate it.

*THE GIVING TREE initial edit is complete. I asked for a few tweaks. There are some technical imperfections, and we’d like to reshoot it, but as a demo, to get me hired for my DR. SEUSS SHOW, it’ll do.

This week is a little late due to a busy weekend, and then I was sick for a few days. (I never get sick due to stress. It just happens sometimes.)